DeckRestAdmin wrote:
Cretowood should be applied to the wood after cleaning and while still wet. The best bet would be to us a deck brightener after applying the cretowood to change the pH balance back. This should be done 30-45 minutes after applying the Cretowood.
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When you say the Cretowood should be applied while the deck is wet, how wet are we talking about? Do you mean immediately after rinsing thoroughly with a garden hose? Or do you mean damp, but not high gloss/standing water?

In regards to color changing, this has not been our experience so far. We have applied Cretowood to some Redwood planters (same as our decking material), and the color changed to nearly black soon after application. Much of the color came back after the wood went through several heavy rains, but it still never came back to it's pre-Cretowood color. However, note that the wood was completely dry when we applied the Cretowood. Also, we had some Cretowood overspray on the deck surface when treating the ends, on a 90 degree sunny day. This turned the blackest of all and dried immediately. So don't apply in those conditions?? Most of that has also since come out in the rain, but not all of it, even after thorough cleaning and brightening. As you might expect, our deck is a lovely bright red thing of splendor now, and we don't want to ruin that with the Cretowood. We do have additional cleaner and brightener available, if necessary.

Thanks so much!

The cretowood will darken the wood slightly depending on the type of wood. Older redwood will probably darken more then newer. If you are concerned then I woould brighten to change the ph balance back to a neutral state.

Apply Cretowood when the wood is wet. It will dry into the wood within 45 minutes.

Nice deck by the way!

Thanks for the super quick reply and compliment! Ok, wet it is then. The instructions on the bucket don't make any mention of wet vs. dry, though another site selling Cretowood specifically says to let the wood dry for 1-2 days after cleaning, before applying, hence my confusion.

I was told by the manufacturer to apply after washing. We have always done it that way without any issues.

Success! We wet the deck down yesterday a couple hours before applying the Cretowood. It was wet, but no standing water or super high gloss as just after a rain. The Cretowood sat on for about an hour before it started to rain lightly. It initially was significantly darker than before, but not black. It rained more or less all night, heavy at times, and today it looks the same as it did before application. Now I guess time will tell how long the wood actually lasts. Too bad we will probably have moved out of this house before it shows signs of degradation.